Ancestral Dragon Withdraws, Ao Lie's Dao Heart Wavers

After Ancestral Dragon left, the atmosphere atop Dragon-Suppressing Pass remained heavy.

No one cheered.

No one discussed it.

The Dragon Clan's lord had merely cast down a thought, yet everyone in Guixu had felt the true pressure of one of the three racial overlords.

Even though Emperor had steadily handled the exchange, the shock in everyone's hearts lingered for a long time.

Ao Lie stood at the outer gate, staring toward the Eastern Sea, as though he had been frozen in place.

Ancestral Dragon's final words kept echoing in his mind.

Since you are willing to uphold Guixu's rules, uphold them to the end.

Do not bring shame upon the Dragon Clan.

Ancestral Dragon had not condemned him as a traitor to his clan.

Nor had he ordered him to return to Blackwater Dragon Palace.

He had even assumed that Ao Lie would continue guarding Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

The taut string in Ao Lie's heart suddenly loosened somewhat.

Yet another sentence weighed upon his heart like a massive boulder.

If the Dragon Clan truly faces a day of decline, this scale can protect the Dragon Clan Young Lineage and bring it into Guixu.

Why had Ancestral Dragon said that?

Would the Dragon Clan truly face a day of decline?

Had those words come from anyone else, Ao Lie might have become enraged, argued back, or even drawn his blade against them.

But the one who had spoken them was Ancestral Dragon.

The lord of the Dragon Clan.

The hegemon of the Four Seas.

If even Ancestral Dragon had left behind a way out for the Dragon Clan Young Lineage, what did that mean?

Ao Lie did not dare think too deeply about it.

Everything he had believed in since childhood had cracked today.

The Dragon Clan was invincible.

The Dragon Clan was destined to flourish.

The Dragon Clan would surely rule the Primordial World.

He had heard those words for countless years.

Yet the half of the Reverse Scale Ancestral Dragon had left within Dragon-Suppressing Pass seemed to be telling him:

No matter how prosperous the Dragon Clan became, it still needed a sliver of hope for survival.

When Han Jue came to his side, Ao Lie was still lost in thought.

"Hey."

Ao Lie did not react.

Han Jue frowned.

"Ao Lie."

Ao Lie finally came back to himself, his tone somewhat low.

"What is it?"

Han Jue looked at him.

"You look like your father just died."

Ao Lie's face darkened.

"If you don't know how to speak, keep your mouth shut."

Han Jue sat down beside him and looked toward the Eastern Sea as well.

"Are you thinking about the Reverse Scale Ancestral Dragon left behind?"

Ao Lie fell silent.

This time, he did not deny it.

Han Jue also unusually refrained from needling him further.

The two remained quietly like that for a long time.

At last, Ao Lie said softly, "Han Jue, do you think the Dragon Clan will lose?"

Han Jue thought for a moment.

"I don't know."

Ao Lie looked at him.

Han Jue said very seriously, "I've never seen the real Ancestral Dragon fight, nor have I seen Yuanfeng or Primordial Qilin fight for their lives."

"I can't understand the larger tide of events at that level."

"But Emperor said the three races had reached the height of their prosperity, and their karmic burden had already grown heavy."

"I believe Emperor."

Ao Lie gave a bitter smile.

"So you think the Dragon Clan will lose too."

Han Jue shook his head.

"I only think that no race can keep winning forever."

Ao Lie fell silent.

Those words were simple.

Yet they were true.

The Dragon Clan had won for too long.

So long that many of its members had forgotten that the Primordial World had no eternal protagonist.

Han Jue looked at him and suddenly asked, "If the Dragon Clan really loses, what will you do?"

Ao Lie's eyes went blank for a moment.

He did not know.

He was of the Dragon Clan.

Yet he was now guarding Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

He still had feelings for the Dragon Clan, but he had also grown attached to Guixu.

If one day the Dragon Clan and Guixu stood on opposing sides, what should he do?

Seeing that he did not speak, Han Jue said directly, "I've already thought it through for you."

Ao Lie frowned.

"You thought it through for me?"

"That's right."

Han Jue patted the spear in his hand.

"You are the outer gate guard general of the Outer Gate of Dragon-Suppressing Pass."

"If you uphold the rules, I acknowledge you."

"If you break the rules, I'll beat you up."

Ao Lie froze.

Then he suddenly laughed.

His laughter was soft.

"That's all?"

Han Jue said as though it were only natural, "What else would there be?"

"Guixu doesn't judge people by their origins."

"Whether you're from the Dragon Clan or the Third Prince of Blackwater Dragon Palace, once you enter Guixu, you follow Guixu's rules."

"If you uphold them, I acknowledge you."

"If you don't, I'll beat you up."

Ao Lie lowered his head and looked at the black waters beyond Dragon-Suppressing Pass, suddenly feeling much more at ease.

Those words were crude.

They were even somewhat overbearing.

Yet that was Guixu's simplest and most reassuring quality.

It did not ask about one's origins.

It only looked at the rules.

He did not need to figure out the Dragon Clan's future right away.

He only needed to guard the Outer Gate of Dragon-Suppressing Pass well for now.

That was enough.

Ao Lie slowly let out a breath.

"Han Jue."

"Hmm?"

"Once my injuries have fully healed, let's fight in the Martial Practice Arena."

Han Jue's eyes lit up.

"You've finally figured it out?"

Ao Lie sneered.

"I just think you talk too much and deserve a beating."

Han Jue burst into laughter.

"Fine, I'll wait for you."

In the distance.

Lan Shuang stood beneath the pass wall, watching their backs with a trace of relief in her eyes.

Ao Lie had passed this trial of his Dao heart.

Ancestral Dragon's arrival had struck him too hard.

If he could not emerge from it, Ao Lie would likely be torn between the Dragon Clan and Guixu in the future.

Han Jue seemed rough and reckless, yet with the simplest words, he had pulled Ao Lie back into Guixu's rules.

Lady Mingzhu came to Lan Shuang's side and said softly, "Ao Lie has changed a great deal."

Lan Shuang nodded.

"Dragon-Suppressing Pass has changed a great deal too."

From initially being a place where Ao Lie had been punished to guard the gate, this pass now bore Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale and had truly become Guixu's first gateway facing the three races.

It was also changing every person who remained here.

Deep within Guixu.

Lu Chen did not pay attention to Ao Lie for long.

He was comprehending the incomplete fifth level of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method.

The more he comprehended it, the more he felt that Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale had arrived at just the right time.

The Reverse Scale contained extremely powerful Dragon Clan Fortune.

He did not absorb it directly. Instead, he used the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell to seal it within Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

After this Fortune was dissolved by Dragon-Suppressing Pass, it could instead stabilize the karmic ties of Guixu's aquatic clans.

More importantly, Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale had given him an idea.

Old Shell Substitution could not merely leave behind an old shell passively.

The old shell needed to possess sufficient qualifications to bear destiny.

Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale could shelter the Dragon Clan Young Lineage.

If Yuanfeng also left behind a token, and Primordial Qilin likewise left behind a mark.

Then a portion of the karma of the Three Clans' Flame Seeds would flow into Guixu's Old Shell.

When the time came to mend the heavens in the future, the greater the merit, karma, and Fortune borne by Lu Chen's Old Shell, the more it would resemble the "Northern Sea Black Tortoise" needed by the Heavenly Dao.

And Lu Chen's true body would find it easier to escape.

He suddenly understood why the system had always encouraged him to shelter living beings fleeing calamity.

This was not merely strengthening Guixu.

It was also increasing his Old Shell's qualifications to "bear destiny."

"So that's how it is."

Lu Chen felt exhilarated.

"The more people I save, the more valuable the Old Shell becomes."

"The more valuable the Old Shell becomes, the better it can hold up the heavens in my place in the future."

"This is a good thing."

Of course, the danger would also increase.

After all, the more important Guixu became, the more it would draw the attention of great powers.

But things had reached this point, and he could no longer drive everyone away.

He could only continue reinforcing his tortoise shell.

Continue perfecting the shell-shedding method.

Continue repeatedly dancing along the edge of the tribulation.

The system notification sounded at that moment as well.

"Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale has entered Guixu. The Fortune of Guixu's aquatic clans has stabilized."

"Ao Lie's Dao heart has initially stabilized. The Fortune of the Outer Gate of Dragon-Suppressing Pass has increased."

"Chaos Shell-Shedding Method, fifth-layer fragment integration increased."

Lu Chen was in a very good mood.

Though Ancestral Dragon's visit had been frightening, the gains had been substantial.

Dragon-Suppressing Pass's status had risen.

Ao Lie's state of mind had stabilized.

The Fortune of Guixu's aquatic clans had stabilized.

The Chaos Shell-Shedding Method had advanced.

This had been a huge profit.

He subconsciously muttered.

"Ancestral Dragon really is a good person."

The moment the words left his mouth, Lu Chen abruptly stopped.

No.

He couldn't say things like that carelessly.

The great powers of the Primordial World were sensitive beyond measure.

What if Ancestral Dragon had a sudden whim one day and sensed him talking about him behind his back? Who knew what might happen?

Lu Chen decided to praise the great powers of the Primordial World less in the future.

Better yet, he should think of them less as well.

Eastern Sea Ancestral Dragon Palace.

After Ancestral Dragon's divine sense returned, he sat alone in the great hall for a long time.

No Dragon in the hall dared disturb him.

A hazy mass of watery gray light appeared in his hand.

It was the aura of the Grand Dream Black Tortoise that his divine sense had seen outside Guixu.

He attempted to deduce Lu Chen's true body.

But whenever his deductions reached deeper, they were blocked by the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell and the Guixu Womb Membrane.

In the end, all he could see was a stretch of black water.

Deep within the black water, an enormous Black Tortoise slept.

Ancestral Dragon slowly withdrew his hand.

"Cannot see through it."

If those three words spread, the entire Dragon Clan would be shaken.

Ancestral Dragon actually could not see through a Northern Sea Black Tortoise.

After a moment, Ancestral Dragon spoke.

"Pass down my order."

"Do not act on matters concerning Guixu for now."

"If any young bloodline of the Dragon Clan suffers calamity, they may follow the aura of their reverse scales to the Northern Sea and seek a sliver of hope."

From the shadows of the great hall, a Dragon Clan expert said quietly, "Your Majesty, are you truly entrusting the young bloodlines to Guixu?"

Ancestral Dragon's gaze remained calm.

"It is merely leaving them a way out."

"The Dragon Clan may not necessarily use it."

"But if it truly comes to that..."

He paused for a moment.

"The Northern Sea's Guixu may be safer than any of the Dragon Clan's aquatic palaces."

The Dragon Clan expert's heart shook violently.

He did not dare ask further.

"Your will be obeyed."

Ancestral Dragon looked into the distance.

The Fortune of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans was constantly colliding above the Primordial World.

He could sense that the true great war was drawing ever closer.

That Black Tortoise in Guixu had been right.

The three clans had reached the height of their prosperity, and their karmic burden had already grown heavy.

But now, no one could retreat.

Ancestral Dragon closed his eyes.

"Black Tortoise."

"Can you see the end?"